Tomorrow there is a local election in the quiet town of Bedford, NH. What would normally be just another town election has turned into a side-show of ‘mad men’. For some unknown reason Bill Greiner (a former elected official and a man who apparently does business with the town) has decided to attack candidates running in the town elections: Aaron Day for the School Board and Matt Philips for Town Councilor. Greiner isn’t attacking them on issues. He’s actually refused to speak with either candidate about the issues even when they offered. He’s produced a video in which he spews lies and makes some pretty crazy claims about candidates he doesn’t even know. If you watch the video, it’s obvious Greiner is lying and he knows it.

It appears something is rotten in the Town of Bedford. Why would a man who isn’t running in any town election smear candidates rather than debate them on the issues if he disagrees with them? Both Day and Philips have spoken in many forums on the issues and spoken with many voters. It appears it’s only Greiner’s specific crowd dubbed as the ‘Bedford Bullies’ who are choosing to personally attack the men. It’s questionable as to why really. That reason may be uncovered soon as Ben Swann, investigative journalist of the Truth in Media Project, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see if there are indeed reasons Greiner is so hell bent on keeping Day and Phillips out of town politics.

A sitting Town Councilor who is also dubbed as one of the ‘Bedford Bullies’ has lied about Day and Phillips as well. Councilor Jim Scanlon, clearly one of Greiner’s minions, made some incoherent and false allegations that Day and Phillips somehow convinced the Bedford Taxpayers Association to be against a proposed $30 million road bond. He made these claims without ever talking to either Day or Philips to get their opinion. The Bedford Taxpayers Association supports both Day and Philips in their races so somehow Scanlon wrongly assumed (Day has made no statement since it’s not a School Board issue and Phillips has said he supports it) that they both agreed with the Association.

It’s unfortunate that voters have had to tolerate this type of behavior leading up to the election. It’s egregious that Greiner would try to cloud the judgement of voters with outright lies and outrageous smears. This is something usually seen at the national level in politics and most voters can’t stand it. It has no place at the town level (or any level of politics for that matter). Something seems rotten in the Town of Bedford. Its citizens and voters deserve better. It appears it’s time to ‘clean house’ a little.